As part of efforts to end insecurity challenges facing the country, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Ambrose Aisabor, has said that it is time for Nigeria to embrace state police.
The retired AIG, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, on Sunday in Benin, the Edo State capital, opined that the failure of the centralised police system to end insecurity in the last 15 years necessitated the need for decentralised policing.
He said: “It is time to embrace state police; the debate whether or not Nigeria should go for state police has been raging with many Nigerians urging the government to embrace it.
“The question now is why are many people clamouring for state police? It is principally due to the failure of the federal police.
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Ambrose added that Nigeria is ripe enough to operate state policing, due to constant changes in security.
He said: “Due to the new dynamics in security, the centre can no longer hold (water). The security situation in the country is getting worse on a daily basis.
“When is Nigeria going to be ripe for state police? The main argument is that state governors will misuse the outfit but police are susceptible to misuse at every level of government.
“So many civilised countries are practising multilevel policing. There are always safeguards for checks and balances.
“When you look at what we are having now, most of the police requirements are already being borne by the various state governments.
“Apart from salaries and allowances which the federal government is responsible for, other logistics needs of the police are being handled by governors.”
INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that many stakeholders have been calling for the implementation of state police to curb insecurity challenges such banditry, Boko Haram, unknown gunmen attacks in the country.
Some believed that many state governors would use it to rig election or torment opposition groups.
